S?n Ĺ (??) is a fictional character in the Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. He ranks 39th of the 108 Liangshan heroes and 3rd of the 72 Earthly Fiends. He is nicknamed "Sick Yuchi" (???).

Background

The Water Margin describes Sun Li as eight-feet tall, having a broad face with whiskers and jet-black eyes. He is highly-skilled in martial arts and archery and uses a variety of weapons in combat. His favourite weapons are a pair of steel clubs, similar to those wielded by Huyan Zhuo. He is impatient by nature and often likened to Yuchi Gong of the Tang Dynasty. However, he has a paler complexion and is thus nicknamed "Sick Yuchi" as people who are pale are often believed to be ill.

Sun Li's ancestors were from Qiongzhou (??; present-day Hainan). He serves as a garrison major in Dengzhou (??). He has a younger brother named Sun Xin, who is nicknamed "Little Yuchi" (???). Sun Xin is married to Gu Daosao.

Joining Liangshan

Once, Sun Li receives a distress call from Yue He and learns that his sister-in-law's cousins Xie Zhen and Xie Bao have been framed, imprisoned and sentenced to death. Sun Li joins hands with Yue He, his brother and sister-in-law, Zou Run and Zou Yuan, to raid the prison and rescue the Xie brothers. They flee to Liangshan Marsh for refuge after that and become outlaws.

At that time, the Liangshan outlaws are locked in a stalemate during a battle with the Zhu Family Village (???). Sun Li is a former fellow student of Luan Tingyu, the martial arts instructor of the village. He decides to make use of his relationship with Luan to conduct an espionage mission for Liangshan within the village. He brings along the heroes who followed him to Liangshan. They receive a warm welcome from Luan Tingyu and the Zhu brothers.

However, the Zhus are suspicious of Sun Li's allegiance to them initially. Sun Li proves his loyalty by capturing Liangshan's Shi Xiu during a duel. The Zhus then believe that Sun Li is genuinely faithful to them. Sun Li and his party work together with the Liangshan forces to bring down the Zhus and capture the village, making his first major contribution to Liangshan. He participates in the subsequent battles against the enemies of Liangshan.

Campaigns

Sun Li becomes one of the scouting generals of the Liangshan calvary after the Grand Assembly. He follows the Liangshan heroes on their campaigns against the Liao invaders and southern rebel forces after they have been granted amnesty by the Imperial Court. He survives the calamitous Fang La campaign along with his brother and sister-in-law. They return to the capital city to receive their rewards from the emperor in recognition of their contributions to the nation. Sun Li is reinstated as the major garrison of Dengzhou.

Other appearances

In the novel Iron Arm, Golden Saber, Sun Li is portrayed as a fellow student of Zhou Tong and Luan Tingyu. They learn martial arts from a Shaolin martial artist called Tan Zhengfan. Zhou becomes an imperial drill instructor of the Imperial Guard and he recommends Sun Li to be a garrison major in Dengzhou.^[1]

References

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